Zazpiak Bat is a

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

nickname for the Basque

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

which includes the arms of the seven provinces mentioned, stressing their unity. It was designed by the historian Jean de Jaurgain in 1897 for the ''Congrès et Fêtes de la Tradition basque'' celebrated at

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Antoine-Thomson d'Abbadie Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie d'Arrast (3 January 1810 – 19 March 1897) was an Irish-born French explorer, geographer, ethnologist, linguist and astronomer notable for his travels in EthiopiaAlthough referred to as Ethiopia here, the region that ...

in the late nineteenth century, from the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

words ''zazpiak'' meaning 'the seven' and ''bat'' meaning 'one', translates as "the seven reone" and refers to the seven Basque Country traditional provinces. However, it was first cited in 1836 by a friend and collaborator of Antoine d'Abbadie's, the

Soule Soule (Basque: Zuberoa; Zuberoan/ Soule Basque: Xiberoa or Xiberua; Occitan: ''Sola'') is a former viscounty and French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''département''. It is divided into two cantons of the arrond ...

tin Agosti Xaho (''Etudes grammaticales sur la langue euskarienne'', dedicated to the ''Zazpirak Bat''). The motto is based on a similar one fashioned by the Enlightenment society

Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País The Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country (in Basque ''Euskalerriaren Adiskideen Elkartea'' and in Spanish ''Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País''), also known as ''La Bascongada'' or ''Bascongada Society'', was founded in the m ...

in 1765, ''Irurac bat'', 'the three reone', after the provinces currently making up the

Basque Autonomous Community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...

), while a like variant was created too in the 19th century known as ''Laurak bat'' ('the four reone', after the four Basque provinces in Spain), a motto quoted and celebrated by the Provincial Government of Navarre in 1866.

History

The original Zazpiak Bat features a design of traditional arms of six Basque territories, namely

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

, and

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

(the three which make the

) plus Navarre (both in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

); and the two that are part of the French department of the

Pyrénées Atlantiques The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

and Labourd. The coat of arms of the third traditional province,

Lower Navarre Lower Navarre ( eu, Nafarroa Beherea/Baxenabarre; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; french: Basse-Navarre ; es, Baja Navarra) is a traditional region of the present-day French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the ...

is subsumed under the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Navarre, therefore omitted and represented by the latter. The modern design is based on the current simplified heraldry of these territories.

Laurak Bat

Laurak Bat with the four Basque provinces in Spain was adopted as the

of the

Basque autonomous community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...

. The coat of arms of Navarre was originally included in the seven quarter of the shield, but following a protest from the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

led government of Navarre, the Constitutional Court of Spain forced the Basque government to remove the chains of Navarre from the Basque insignia. The red background of the Navarrese insignia currently occupies the fourth quarter of the coat of arms of the Basque Country.

References

{{reflist

External links

Website with various Basque flags and arms
Basque culture Mottos Spanish coats of arms Coats of arms of country subdivisions Coats of arms with chains Coats of arms with crowns Coats of arms with swords Coats of arms with sceptres Coats of arms with trees Coats of arms with crosses Coats of arms with buildings Coats of arms with lions Coats of arms with fleurs de lis Coats of arms with animals Coats of arms with cannons Symbols introduced in 1897